Melissa Boyajian EDC 503-Summer 2013 Context Report-Summary Paragraphs Team 1 District Data 2 Safe and Supportive Schools Funding and Resources
Central Falls: “A City with a Bright Future”
When choosing a district in Rhode Island to raise children, one must carefully consider the safety and support afforded by that school system. The level of that provided is typically reflected by the students’ attendance rates. The attendance rate is the number of days that an enrolled student is present in class divided by the state’s minimum 180-day academic year. Note that all rates are given for the 2011-2012 academic year and are provided by InfoWorks [1] unless stated otherwise. The Central Falls district has a 90% attendance rate for all schools, including elementary, middle, and high schools. This fared well against the state’s target, which is also 90%, but does fall short of the state’s average of 94%. It is noted that attendance rates are inversely proportional to the student’s grade level. This is evident in the 94% attendance rate in elementary school, 93% rate in middle school, and an 82% attendance rate by the time the student reaches high school, all of these rates are below the state’s average. One should also consider the chronic absenteeism rate, which is the percentage of students who have missed at least 10% of the academic school year. In Central Falls this rate is high at 30% when compared to Rhode Island State average of 17%.
Graduation rates are of incredible importance when considering a school system. The percentage of students in Central Falls who effectively graduate four years after entering the 9th grade is 68.1%, a deficit is again noticed when comparing this to the state’s average of 77.1%. This discrepancy represents 9 fewer children out of 100 who will not be on the graduation stage to receive their diploma at the end of four years. The drop out rate in Central Falls is also high, 14.8% compared to the 11.9% state average. This data may be skewed since the age at which students can withdraw themselves in Rhode Island was officially raised in 2012 from 16 to 18 years of age, perhaps contributing to an increase in absenteeism rates. Of this 14.8% of students who did not graduate in four years with their original 9th grade cohort, none of them received a general equivalency diploma, GED, by the time their class graduated. Adding to the 68.1% of students who graduated in four years those who required a fifth year for completion, the total five year graduation rate for Central Falls is 70.3%, still below the state’s average of 77.4%.
The number of incidents of student suspension is also directly correlated to the level of safety and security provided by a school, since some of these suspensions are for violent and delinquent acts such as assault, arson, alcohol or drug possession, and vandalism. There were a total of 759 suspensions in all of the Central Falls schools with 95% of these incidents occurring at the high schools. 2% of these of these suspensions occurred in the elementary schools, which is an alarming precursor for future behavior.
The stability index of a school is the number of students who remained enrolled for the entire academic year divided by the total number of students who entered, remained, and left the school. The stability index for all elementary, middle, and high schools ranged from 74-78%. A deficit is again noticed when this is compared to the 86-89% stability rate for the state. The mobility index is the total number of students who entered or left a school divided by the total enrollment, essentially describing the turnover rate. The mobility index for all schools in Central Falls ranges from 24-30%, while that for the state ranges from 12-16%. Together the stability and mobility indices indicate the flow of students into and out of a school, which may contribute to a disruption in academics and a lack of consistency.
The amount of funding at a school’s disposal is of particular importance to the success of the students. The per pupil expenditure is the average amount that a district spends on each student enrolled in the public school system. In 2009, the per pupil expenditure in the Central Falls school district was $14,347. The state average for that same year was $15,262. Both these amount exceed the nation average of $10,694 [2]. The mean income per household in Central Falls is $26,844 annually. The state’s average income per family is $55,333, more than twice that in Central Falls, which is the lowest reported in the state. Since schools receive a substantial portion of their funding from local taxes it is prudent to consider the tax rate per $1,000 of property value. In Central Falls this number is $8.08. The total property value per student is $196,417. When this is compare to an affluent town such as East Greenwich, deficits are definitely noted. The tax rate per $1,000 here is $16.64, more than double that of Central Falls. The property value per student in East Greenwich is $1,002,895, which indicates that there is more property to be taxed at a much higher rate, which has the potential to contribute to a more successful school system.
Context Report-Summary Paragraphs
Team 1 District Data 2
Safe and Supportive Schools
Funding and Resources
Central Falls: “A City with a Bright Future”
When choosing a district in Rhode Island to raise children, one must carefully consider the safety and support afforded by that school system. The level of that provided is typically reflected by the students’ attendance rates. The attendance rate is the number of days that an enrolled student is present in class divided by the state’s minimum 180-day academic year. Note that all rates are given for the 2011-2012 academic year and are provided by InfoWorks [1] unless stated otherwise. The Central Falls district has a 90% attendance rate for all schools, including elementary, middle, and high schools. This fared well against the state’s target, which is also 90%, but does fall short of the state’s average of 94%. It is noted that attendance rates are inversely proportional to the student’s grade level. This is evident in the 94% attendance rate in elementary school, 93% rate in middle school, and an 82% attendance rate by the time the student reaches high school, all of these rates are below the state’s average. One should also consider the chronic absenteeism rate, which is the percentage of students who have missed at least 10% of the academic school year. In Central Falls this rate is high at 30% when compared to Rhode Island State average of 17%.
Graduation rates are of incredible importance when considering a school system. The percentage of students in Central Falls who effectively graduate four years after entering the 9th grade is 68.1%, a deficit is again noticed when comparing this to the state’s average of 77.1%. This discrepancy represents 9 fewer children out of 100 who will not be on the graduation stage to receive their diploma at the end of four years. The drop out rate in Central Falls is also high, 14.8% compared to the 11.9% state average. This data may be skewed since the age at which students can withdraw themselves in Rhode Island was officially raised in 2012 from 16 to 18 years of age, perhaps contributing to an increase in absenteeism rates. Of this 14.8% of students who did not graduate in four years with their original 9th grade cohort, none of them received a general equivalency diploma, GED, by the time their class graduated. Adding to the 68.1% of students who graduated in four years those who required a fifth year for completion, the total five year graduation rate for Central Falls is 70.3%, still below the state’s average of 77.4%.
The number of incidents of student suspension is also directly correlated to the level of safety and security provided by a school, since some of these suspensions are for violent and delinquent acts such as assault, arson, alcohol or drug possession, and vandalism. There were a total of 759 suspensions in all of the Central Falls schools with 95% of these incidents occurring at the high schools. 2% of these of these suspensions occurred in the elementary schools, which is an alarming precursor for future behavior.
The stability index of a school is the number of students who remained enrolled for the entire academic year divided by the total number of students who entered, remained, and left the school. The stability index for all elementary, middle, and high schools ranged from 74-78%. A deficit is again noticed when this is compared to the 86-89% stability rate for the state. The mobility index is the total number of students who entered or left a school divided by the total enrollment, essentially describing the turnover rate. The mobility index for all schools in Central Falls ranges from 24-30%, while that for the state ranges from 12-16%. Together the stability and mobility indices indicate the flow of students into and out of a school, which may contribute to a disruption in academics and a lack of consistency.
The amount of funding at a school’s disposal is of particular importance to the success of the students. The per pupil expenditure is the average amount that a district spends on each student enrolled in the public school system. In 2009, the per pupil expenditure in the Central Falls school district was $14,347. The state average for that same year was $15,262. Both these amount exceed the nation average of $10,694 [2]. The mean income per household in Central Falls is $26,844 annually. The state’s average income per family is $55,333, more than twice that in Central Falls, which is the lowest reported in the state. Since schools receive a substantial portion of their funding from local taxes it is prudent to consider the tax rate per $1,000 of property value. In Central Falls this number is $8.08. The total property value per student is $196,417. When this is compare to an affluent town such as East Greenwich, deficits are definitely noted. The tax rate per $1,000 here is $16.64, more than double that of Central Falls. The property value per student in East Greenwich is $1,002,895, which indicates that there is more property to be taxed at a much higher rate, which has the potential to contribute to a more successful school system.
References:
[1]InfoWorks: Rhode Island Education Data Reporting. 2013.
http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov
[2] National Center for Educational Statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66